Tea bag dispenser



H. A. HARVEY TEA BAG DISPENSER Filed July 28, 1965 R. M W M WHW/,wn @E W/ w Wm m .r 3 NVK M i@ A,m w i mf. im

Aug. 29, 1967 United States Patent O 3,338,646 TEA BAG DISPENSER Harry A. Harvey, Lockport, N.Y., assignor of one-fourth to Sara Knepp, Lockport, N.Y. Filed July 28, 1965, Ser. No. 475,386 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-42) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The device is an improved dispenser for tea bags in which there is a cabinet having a door constructed of plastic which is retained in a position against accidental displacement and for preserving the freshness of a tea bag. 'Ihe tea bags are staggered so that the tag attached to the free end of the string is capable of dropping downwardly and may be pulled displacing the tea bag from the stacked array within the cabinet.

The present invention relates to a tea bag dispenser apparatus, and more particularly relates to an improved tea bag dispenser apparatus in which there is provided a door to the dispenser apparatus or cabinet, the door being constructed of plastic or other material such that the 'frictional engagement of the door as disposed against the frame of the cabinet or dispenser apparatus will suice to retain the door against accidental displacement. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a tea bag apparatus which will eliminate the tangling of the tea bags and strings attached thereto when extracting one or more tea bags from a quantity of tea |bags.

Another object of the invention is to provide selective displacement and adaptability for selective dispensing of tea bags by means of an exclusive dispensing arrangement of tea bags with the strings and tags attached thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide hygenic precautions when dispensing tea bags. Normally when a package of tea bags is opened or dispensed, ones hands are used to transfer tea bags to a canister or other container. With filler inserts, this unsanitary condition is eliminated particularly in restaurants where cartons are left open to be exposed to foreign matter. Thus in accordance with the present invention, ller inserts of a series of pre-arranged stacked tea bags in which the tags thereof are interposed, eliminating an unsanitary condition.

Another feature and object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sales potential in the advertisement over other known commodities.

The dispenser of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the selective dispensing of tea bags provides a sanitary labor saver, a new kitchen device, and a new useful device in manufacturing that is capable of being made in matching decor for counter tops, along with other kitchen utensils.

A further object of the invention is to make a sanitary dispenser when extracting an individual tea bag, wherein the hands do not come in contact with the tea 'bags but merely with the tag connected thereto. Although this may be alleged to have been conceived in the prior art, it is of course apparent that the prior use and wide degree of use of tea bags has not eliminated the contact of hands with the bags except in accordance with the present invention.

In accordance with the practice of the present invention, the tea bags are placed in a uniform stacked manner in an insert with the tags disposed down and between each of the bags, except for the bottom bag in which the tag is disposed downward and the attached string is disposed in front to compensate for removal of the first tea bag from the bottom, and the consecutive tags then fall by a simple manual forward movement of the removed bag,

3,338,646 Patentedl Aug. 29, 1967 so that the successive tags in sequence are dropped in place for removal of the tea bags, respectively.

The tea bag dispenser of the invention may be made of Wood, metal, or plastic. The manufacture of the device includes fabricating the body or having it coated or cast in a one piece unit, and in which the dispenser is cornposed of a multiple of compartments. The front compartment is for one or more blends of tea and the rear compartments are for storage of spare ller inserts. The bottom compartment below the shelf or ledge is for tea bag tags to hang for ready access with the moving of the slide doors upward to withdraw the lowermost tea bag without the hands coming into contact with the tea bag. If the preceding tea bag is resting to one side of the shelf, the texture of tea bag will in and of itself, when extracted from the dispenser, draw the next tag out to drop down into the bottom compartment for future access.

The top front part of the slide channel is formed inward and acts as a tension device 'for holding the slide door upward in a vertical position, and releasing ones hand if the user is preoccupied in extracting more than one tea bag. At the conclusion of the dispensing operation, the slide door may be pulled down into its closed position.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying'drawings forming a part thereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the tea bag dispenser in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2 2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3 3 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional View taken along lines 4 4 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a cabinet 10 for dispensing tea bags, in which the cabinet contains sections 12, 14, within which is disposed a series of tea bags in stacked array, the tea bags tbeing shown as 16, 16, 16, 18. Tea bag 18 is disposed at the bottom, as shown in FIGURE l, and each of the tea bags has interdigitated, preferably on the same side thereof, the tea bag tag 20, 20, 22, so that when the stacked array of tea bags is disposed in the container 12, the relation of the tea bag tags to the tea ybags is disposed beneath the tea bags, and the tea bag tag 22 is displaced in hanging relation from its tea bag 18 by -means of a connecting string 24. The tea bag tag 22 is disposed in an open cavity or chamber 26, and the chamber 26 provides sutiicient space and volume for allowing the tea bag tag to be manually grasped so that upon the tea bag tag -being grasped and pulled, the bottom tea bag 18 may be readily removed with facility from the bottom of said array.

The cabinet 10 has a handle or knob 30 disposed upon its top, and also knobs 32, 34 are provided on the front of the cabinet on sliding doors or slides 36, 38, respectively, as shown in FIGURE 2, so that the slides 36, 38, may be suiciently raised along the tracks 40, 40, until the tea bag tag 22 in the cavity 26 is readily grasped and the tea bag 18 at the bottom of said array is capable of being pulled by the string 24 and removed from said array.

The chamber in which the tea bag arrays are stacked contains a door that is pivotally mounted and may be made of plastic or similar material, the door 42, 44, being of such nature that it is held in place by a detent-catch mechanism 46, as shown in FIGURES 1, 3 and 4, respectively.

The cabinet has sufficient storage volume so that spare arrays of tea bags, in packaged relation, may be stored in the back of the container section 12, 14, and [between 3 the partitions 60, 62, as shown in FIGURE 2. Also the container is disposed for mounting on a wall, as provided by threaded means such as screws 64, 64.

In view of the means for withdrawing the tea bag by appropriate grasping of a tea bag tag and withdrawing the tea bag by pulling the tag attached to the string 24 and removing the bag 18 from said array, the objects and advantages of the invention are accomplished in a novel and unique manner over the prior art.

Of course, the array of tea -bags is disposed to be mounted from the shelf of a U-shaped configuration 68, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The configuration being U-shaped as it is, the tea bag 18 is readily adapted to be removed upon a slight pull by the tea bag tag 22. The array of tea `bags in the container is visible through the door 42, 44, respectively, by means of a transparent or translucent panel 70 which may be of plastic material, as desired.

Additional embodiments of the invention in this specication will occur to others and therefore it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claims and not by the embodiment described. hereinabove. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A tea bag dispensing apparatus comprising at least one chamber of a cabinet for disposing in stacked array a series of tea bags having their tags intermediately disposed beneath the respective bag to which they appertain, said chamber containing said stacked array,.tea bags and tea bag tags, `at least one door on the container section for closing the chamber and constructed of plastic material, an open chamber disposed beneath said chamber provided to allow a grasping area for the tea bag tags so that upon grasping the tea bag tag, the bottom tea bag being connected by a string to said tea bag tag may be removed from the bottom of said array, said doors having a translucent or transparent slot vertically disposed therein and in substantial parallel relation to the axis of the stacked array of tea bags, and further are provided w1th frictional engagement `for retaining them in their closed position to the cabi-net, as desired.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said doors have a translucent or transparent slot vertically disposed therein and in substantial parallel relation to the axis of the stacked array of tea bags.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said chamber is a cabinet having said door all constructed of plastic material and the frictional engagement of said doors to the cabinet includes a detent-catch arrangement.

4. A tea bag dispensing device comprising lat least one vertical section of a cabinet for dispensing in serial order -one of a stacked array of tea bags each having a tag intermediately interdigitated with the array of tea bags, a chamber to contain said stacked array, at least one door on the container of plastic material, said door having a vertical aperture disposed therein for observing the fullness of the container, and an open chamber disposed beneath said dispensing chamber provided for allowing a grasping area for the tea bag tags so that upon the tea bag tag being grasped, the bottom tea bag may be readily removed from the said array.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,115,923 5/1938 Cooper 312-42 2,933,217 4/1960 Salisbury 22l-109 2,959,368 11/1960 Neff 242-55.2 3,127,225 3/1964 IOehrlei-n 312-50 3,157,445 ll/l964 Aversa 312- 3,214,187 10/1965 Fuerst 280--36 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner.

J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TEA BAG DISPENSING APPARATUS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CHAMBER OF A CABINET FOR DISPOSING IN STACKED ARRAY A SERIES OF TEA BAGS HAVING THEIR TAGS INTERMEDIATELY DISPOSED BENEATH THE RESPECTIVE BAG TO WHICH THEY APPERTAIN, SAID CHAMBER CONTAINING SAID STACKED ARRAY TEA BAGS AND TEA BAG TAGS, AT LEAST ONE DOOR ON THE CONTAINER SECTION FOR CLOSING THE CHAMBER AND CONSTRUCTED OF PLASTIC MATERIAL, AN OPEN CHAMBER DISPOSED BENEATH SAID CHAMBER PROVIDED TO ALLOW A GRASPING AREA FOR THE TEA BAG TAGS SO THAT UPON GRASPING THE TEA BAG TAG, THE BOTTOM TEA BAG BEING CONNECTED BY A STRING TO SAID TEA BAG TAG MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID ARRAY, SAID DOORS HAVING A TRANSLUCENT OR TRANSPARENT SLOT VERTICALLY DISPOSED THEREIN AND IN SUBSTANTIAL PARALLEL RELATION TO THE AXIS OF THE STACKED ARRAY OF TEA BAGS, AND FURTHER ARE PROVIDED WITH FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT FOR RETAINING THEM IN THEIR CLOSED POSITION TO THE CABINET, AS DESIRED. 